Concerns about teacher raised last year

By Gayle perez
The Pueblo Chieftain

Published: November 21, 2013;Last modified: November 22, 2013 05:09PM

South High School Principal Aaron Bravo was notified nearly a year ago about concerns with a former teacher sending students explicit text messages and inappropriate photos to male students, a South student and parent told The Pueblo Chieftain on Thursday.

Larisa Oringdulph resigned Nov. 7 after allegations surfaced the previous month that she had sent inappropriate text messages to students and kissed another boy this fall semester.

A South senior said similar text messages, photos and talk of Oringdulph’s inappropriate behavior with male students was voiced to Bravo last December.

The student said semi-nude photos and sexually explicit text messages allegedly sent to male students were shown to Bravo by several students, but nothing came of the complaint.

“(Bravo) said there’s no truth behind this; you guys made this up,” the student said. “I said, ‘Well, the (students) have pictures.’ He said we just needed to drop it and if we didn’t, we’d face consequences with our sports.”

The student — both her and her mother spoke on the condition of anonymity — said Bravo threatened to suspend her.

Bravo did not return a call Thursday seeking comment. When contacted earlier this week by The Chieftain’s news partners, KRDO-TV, Bravo declined comment and referred all questions to Pueblo City Schools (D60) spokesman Scott Jones.

District officials have refused comment regarding any investigations or complaints involving Oringdulph since she has been an employee of the district.

The student said the group of students didn’t continue to press Bravo on the matter because they were afraid to do so.

“They’ve known about it for a whole year, but there was never anything to reassure that anything was being done about it,” the student said. “She (Oringdulph) was always in class, she was always in charge of everything, she was at every event.”

A parent said she voiced similar concerns to Bravo a year ago after she saw inappropriate text messages allegedly sent from Oringdulph to a male student.

“I thought it was all hearsay until I saw the text myself. It was very provocative and sexual in nature,” the parent said.

Another parent said Bravo told her that the allegations were untrue and there was nothing else that could be done to prove they were true.

“I didn’t pursue it any further because I felt like I didn’t have any more proof,” the parent said. “I felt intimidated and I felt like I did as much as I could.”

The student who spoke to The Chieftain on Thursday said she no longer feels comfortable talking to the principal about serious matters because she feels they won’t be addressed.

“This is part of his job and if he can’t take care of that, he shouldn’t be a principal,” the student said. “Teachers are supposed to be someone that’s trusted, not someone going around doing these things.”